Wedding season is reaching its peak and summer is in full swing. Whether you are looking for the perfect accessories for your special day or a hot summer night, we think you’ll appreciate the eye candy we’ve incorporated into this week’s post.

This is our featured item this week, a Victorian Diamond and Seed Pearl Buckle Pendant in 15 ct gold, with 19th century English hallmarks. It has a buckle motif and the kind of detail work that you would expect to find in a well-made antique piece (love the tiny grommets and pearl buckle). Add it to your summer wardrobe, the warm patina of antique gold and creamy seed pearls looks great against sun-kissed skin. It would also make be a meaningful wedding day gift for a bride from the groom or Maid of Honor. During the Victorian period, a buckle symbolized loyalty and fidelity by joining two pieces together in love or friendship. There is a glazed compartment on the reverse side. Consider tucking away a tiny secret message, or a snippet of blue ribbon (“something blue”).

Color Trends for Bridal and Summer

Deborah Lippmann’s “True Blood” mini nail lacquer set is our inspiration this week. We’ve chosen accessory color combinations that we think would look great either for a fun night out or for bridal. More and more brides are wearing red, pink and blue accessories with their wedding dresses.

Accessories

Vogue recently published its Wedding Guide for 2013. They have 5 mini guides – City Hall, Garden Party, Country Club Affair, Black Tie Fete, and Over the Top Grand Soiree. The pictures are beautiful and its a great source for ideas whether you are getting married, throwing a party or have people over for dinner. We were inspired by the floral editorial in the Garden Party Guide: a beautiful small bouquet featuring a garden rose in an antique silver sugar bowl with a big scrolling monogram. Below is our version.

Whether you put this arrangement on your bedside table or use it as an accent arrangement at your wedding, consider making it smell as good as it looks. Use garden roses, lavender stalks or even mint sprigs from the supermarket. If you don’t have access to garden roses and feel like splurging, Garden Valley Ranch sells fresh cut garden and heirloom roses (during the season) from their farm to the public, in addition to florists

Antique Diamond Arrow Brooch

Are you lusting after a gorgeous antique brooch, but don’t want to make the investment because you can’t think of multiple ways to wear it? Flaming hearts, diamonds skulls, sparkling flowers, and arrows in all shapes and sizes are among the favorites. Are you getting married, but want to be able to wear the veil pin or sash brooch after the wedding? If you’ve passed up some great pieces because you didn’t think you would get much wear out of them, the following is for you!

On the Front Pocket of Your Jeans

It may sound a bit strange, but it looks great. Pin one flower in the center, a group of three small flowers clustered together, or an arrow brooch or two. As long as the pins are the right size for the area and look good together, anything can work.

Back to Basics – On a Black Blazer

Think about pinning three diamond or paste swallows, one slightly smaller than the next, up the front shoulder of a boyfriend blazer. You could also try multiple gem-set arrows, up and down the lapel of a black fitted blazer pointing in various directions. Just add a white v-neck t-shirt and some black, pointed-toe heels.

Off to the Side

Do you have a dress that knots at the side or a top that has a focus point at the waist, why not pin your favorite sparkling piece in the center? We’ve taken our arrow and pinned it diagonally through the center of this peplum bustier. Here’s another great example, a black dress with a knot that is perfect for pinning, from AllSaints.

On Our Re-Pinnable Black Stingray Bracelet Cuff

If you are like us, you like to get a lot of different looks out of your jewelry and wear it in different ways. This soft black cuff made from stingray, allows you to pin your brooch to the cuff, wear it as a bracelet, and remove the brooch/pin when you want to wear it on something else.

Secret Keepers

What’s better than a really good secret? Perhaps a beautiful piece of jewelry that lets you keep a secret and bring it with you wherever you go. I know that I’m not the only one that finds it hard to resist a hidden compartment. I have been an eye-witness to the bidding frenzy that happens when a piece of jewelry contains a hidden locket compartment. It seems to double or triple the price.

Hidden Watches

We recently acquired a cocktail ring circa 1950. A stunning ring of with cabochon cut rubies, set in rose gold and a diamond at the center. However, what compelled us to snatch it up was the secret behind the face of the ring – a Swiss made watch. It’s fun to have a secret and wear a one of a kind piece that you know no one else is going to have. How many people have you seen wearing a gem-set watch ring? Visit our Cocktail Ring Collection for more information.

The Poison Ring

Research suggests that the poison ring might be more fiction than fact. Although they did exist, who used them and for what purposes have definitely been exaggerated. Lucrezia Borgia, part of the Machiavellian world of Renaissance Italy, is one of the better known figures at the center of this lore. She is rumored to have poisoned the drinks of her family’s political rivals via a ring she wore that contained a hidden compartment filled with a poisonous substance.

The only modern poison ring that I have seen which seems to capture the beauty and spirit of this Renaissance myth is from the famous Maison Boucheron. They had a collection a few years ago that included a series of poison rings with pave-set gems (sapphires, rubies, and emeralds) set in blackened gold. The top slides open to reveal a secret compartment in which to keep your poison of course!

Lockets

Jewelry from the Victorian period had a language of its own. Many pieces of jewelry from the period incorporated either symbolism, sentimentality or secrecy and sometimes all three. The Victorians loved compartments, hidden or in plain sight. They engraved messages and tucked away tokens of luck or love (painted portraits, a lock of hair, a dried four leaf clover). Lockets hanging from chains or collars were very popular. Most contained pictures of loved ones.

Bangle bracelets occasionally contained a photo compartment. The compartments were usually hidden behind a small hinged panel that opened up to reveal a framed photo inside.

We love these antique pieces with secret hiding places. It’s great to have a piece of jewelry in which to keep a hidden picture of your significant other, children or pets. Some (lockets, pocket watches, bangles) are given as gifts with monograms engraved on a blank cartouche on the outside and/or with a secret message on the inside. Many brooch/pendants have glazed compartments (hidden underneath) which originally were used to hold a lock of hair. Use it to hold a secret message, name or date instead. Browse through our Victoriana Collection and find your favorite jeweled secret keeper.

You might be surprised to find that the well-dressed man in Victorian England, would walk out the door wearing multiple pieces of jewelry: cufflinks, a signet ring, a tie pin or a stick pin, and an Albert watch chain. The watch chain at the center of the ensemble, provided the opportunity to hang additional decorative objects. It was the definition of menswear chic for a good portion of the 19th century.

Some Background on the Albert Watch Chain

The watch chain, became the Albert chain named for Prince Albert (1819-1861) who wore them often. He and Queen Victoria were considered to be the fashion trendsetters of their day. Any component of fashion (style, color, structure, or material) adopted by the pair resulted in widespread imitation.

The Albert watch chain can be found in single and double versions. The single has one swivel clip, often called a dog clip, and a T-bar which sometimes has an additional chain to which decorative items could be attached. The T-bar was inserted into the button hole to secure the chain and watch as a safeguard.

The double has two dog clips, with a T-bar in the center. There is a watch on one end and sometimes a Vesta (silver or gold match case with a match strike built into the bottom), or decorative/functional item on the other such as a watch fob seal, watch key, compass or sovereign coin case. If you are curious to see how they were originally worn, the following shows Prince Albert wearing one attached to his waistcoat: portrait photograph of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales from the Royal Trust Collection.

Albert Watch Chain as Necklace

We carefully select the antique watch chains that we choose for our collection. We look for ones from 19th or very early 20th century in sterling silver or gold. And, we also look take into consideration the condition, hallmarks, length, and the pattern of the links.

While doing research on watch chains we discovered that the jewelry trend of wearing a watch chain necklace is not new. When soldiers left home for the battlefields of WWI, they left their pocket watches and watch chains behind with their girlfriends and wives. Women would wear them around their necks to keep them safe and close to the heart. Pocket watches began to fade from use as wrist watches, more practical in the trenches, became the standard.

Menswear chic also seems to be a trend that repeats itself. We think the key to creating a current and feminine menswear inspired look is to choose a fitted silhouette, and of course great accessories! We’ve chosen a slim-fit white silk shirt, a pair of black trousers, black and white spectator, t-strap, platforms and a great belt. A pair of low-rise, cigarette pants would also look great. The open v-neckline provides the perfect backdrop for an Albert watch chain necklace. Wear one, for a more classic look. Layer two or three of varying lengths and patterns to add a bit of edge.

Stacking Bangles

Stacking bracelets seems to be one of those trends that never really fades. In fact, during the Victorian period, women would wear multiple bangles on both arms. Maybe we wouldn’t go that far, but we do love to pile on these delicate Victorian bangles set with rubies, diamonds, pearls, and sapphires. They seem to go so well with so many different looks.

The workmanship and details are what make these Victorian gold bangles unique. You are unlikely to find details like the engraved scrolling pattern that covers the top and bottom edge of the sapphire and diamond bracelet on a modern piece. You can tell that the stars and squares in both the ruby and diamond and the sapphire and diamond bracelets are hand carved and one of a kind because each one is slightly different. We especially love the fact that from the side, the center of the rose gold, seed pearl, and diamond bangle looks like the top of a royal scepter or a crown. The gypsy set bangles (the ones in the picture below with the stars and squares) especially lend themselves to stacking, as the stones are set flush to the surface of the gold.

These bangles are really versatile. You can wear one by itself, mix them with the bangles and bracelets you already have, or buy several to make your own stack.

Below we have paired several of our jeweled, gold bangles from our Victoriana Collection with skinny jeans, a leather peplum tank (a new trend for spring) from Tibi, a leather jacket from AllSaints and touch of red from Burberry in the form of their red stiletto studded bow sandals.

Make sure you check out the links below. We have included some great alternatives to many of the items pictured.

How do you like to stack your bracelets and bangles? Share with us and post a picture.

Beauty

About

Sugar et Cie's jewelry blog is for those who love unique and beautiful jewelry. We share information on jewelry fashion, unusual pieces of antique, vintage and modern jewelry, in addition to our latest finds.